1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopaedic devices, and, more particularly, to orthopaedic cutting blocks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthopaedic surgeons often attach implants to bones in an effort to improve the quality of life of a patient. Before the implant can be attached to the bone, the bone must often be prepared to receive the implant. Preparing the bone to receive the implant can involve cutting the bone precisely and accurately in one or more places. To make such cuts, a surgeon may use an orthopaedic cutting block, which can be variously referred to as a surgical cutting guide, a cutting guide, a bone cutting fixture, or a bone cutting block. When using such cutting guides, a surgeon may insert a bone saw blade through a slot formed by the cutting guide so that the bone saw blade cuts the bone at a precise angle and location. In this way portions of the bone can be resected.
For example, the surgeon often prepares the distal end of a femur to receive a femoral implant during total knee replacement surgery. This preparation involves making a transverse cut in the distal end of the femur and thereby resecting a portion of the femur. After resecting the femur in this manner, four additional cuts can be made using an orthopaedic cutting block, thereby resecting portions of the distal femur away from the remaining femur. These four cuts can be referred to as follows: the anterior cut; the posterior cut; the anterior chamfer cut; and the posterior chamfer cut. Such orthopaedic cutting blocks, however, can involve a high cost stemming at least in part from a large time expenditure, expensive manufacturing equipment, and high labor costs. Further, such cutting blocks can present problems as far as disposability. Further, such cutting blocks can be made of plastic. Durability and cost of such blocks can be problems. Cutting blocks can be made from a single metal block from which material is taken away (such as by machining) to form various slots in the block to make the four cuts.
What is needed in the art is a bone cutting block which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.